Librivox recording of The Congo, by Vachel Lindsay.

Read by Laura Fox

The Congo is one of the best-known poems by American poet Vachel Lindsay (1879-1931). It was revolutionary in its use of sounds and rhythms -- as sounds and rhythms -- and includes elaborate annotations to guide its spoken performance. Lindsay categorized The Congo as "higher Vaudeville" and was famous for his exuberant performances of it. The poem's imagery is racist, but Lindsay was a product of his time -- born 14 years after the end of the American Civil War in Abraham Lincoln's hometown, he revered Lincoln and viewed himself as a friend and supporter of African-American culture.
(Summary by Kathy Thile)

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This audio is part of the collection: The LibriVox Free Audiobook Collection
It also belongs to collections: Audio Books & Poetry; Community Audio

Artist/Composer: Vachel Lindsay
Date: 2006-05-04
Source: Librivox recording of a public-domain text
Keywords: librivox; audiobook; literature; poetry; africa; racism;

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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